Busloads of more than 600 elementary students and their teachers will converge at the UH Mānoa’s 30-acre Urban Garden Center in Pearl City on Friday, March 8, when the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources’ O‘ahu Cooperative Extension Office and Office of Academic and Student Affairs host the 2013 O‘ahu Agriculture and Environmental Awareness Day.

One of the new exhibits will provide students the chance to see an aquaponics display, while other crowd-pleasing exhibits such as compost-creating worms, invasive species-sniffing beagles, and a demonstration of how to create chocolate from cacao pods will also be offered.

Students and teachers from Nānākuli, Wai‘anae, Mauka Lani, ‘Aiea, Pearl Ridge, Waipahu, and Our Lady of Good Counsel will attend this annual event, which serves a two-fold purpose: To create a greater awareness and understanding of agriculture and the environment among today’s students, teachers, and the general public; and to introduce students to career opportunities in agriculture and environmental studies on O‘ahu and throughout the state.

The following day, Saturday, March 9, will be the Urban Garden Center’s Second Saturday event, which will feature many of the same exhibitors from the day before. Also, back by popular demand, is the workshop “Trees from the Ground Down” offered by the Aloha Arborist Association.